EU Agrees Seven-Year Budget With Historic Cut

European Union leaders have reached agreement on the bloc's seven-year budget.

The 960 billion-euro ($1.25 trillion) package for 2014-20 marks the first cut to EU spending in the bloc's history.

The budget, announced June 28 at the EU summit in Brussels, was backed by all 27 EU member states.

It must still be endorsed by the European Parliament.

The EU leaders also agreed to speed up planned spending aimed at reducing youth employment, including spending 6 billion euros over the next two years to support job creation, training, and apprenticeships for young people.

Estimates say nearly one-quarter of people aged 18 to 25 in the EU have no job, and in Greece and Spain, more than half of people in the same age group have no job.